Email scams have become more deceptive. It used to be that most phishing emails contained misspellings and other obvious telltale signs. Now fraudulent spammers are better at impersonating well-known companies like FedEx, Amazon, AT&T, Microsoft and Google.
Email dangers are real, but computers are no longer infected merely by opening emails. Opening an email to view it is safe. But clicking on links and opening attachments can destroy everything on your computer and spread to others.
Older versions of Microsoft Outlook had security holes that resulted in a lot of damage. Opening an email with out-of-date software could infect your computer. Be sure to keep your email software current with updates.
So go ahead and open your emails, but be careful about clicking links and opening attachments. Installing modern antivirus software - not the old-fashioned signature-download variety - provide key protection, too.